FIRST CATALAN CONFERENCE IN DEFENCE OF THE RULE OF LAW. CONCLUSIONS

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FIRST CATALAN CONFERENCE IN DEFENCE OF THE RULE OF LAW. CONCLUSIONS

With the aim of offering a space of knowledge and of generating debate about the various legal issues that have appeared in Catalonia in recent months, and that have had the citizens and their institutions as protagonists, the 'First Catalan Conference in defence of the Rule of Law' has been organized.

It offers an opportunity to defend the rule of law when it collapses under a tyranny to which, moreover, attempts are being made to attach legal legitimacy. This conference has offered an image of commitment to the full guarantee of democratic rights and civil and political rights. For this reason, the following conclusions are made public:

1. Spain's drift towards repression has degenerated into a dual perversion of the structure of the rule of law. On the one hand, an uninhibited violation of fundamental rights and, on the other, a clear reduction in the separation of powers. And inasmuch as these two perversions have become part of the habitual functioning of this State when dealing with the pro-independence political proposal, the chances of putting the situation right through the internal courts are becoming increasingly scarce.

2. The Constitutional Court has not resolved in the relevant sphere the conflict put to it which is of a political nature, and has channeled into the criminal path the ordinary activities of a Parliament. With this decision, the principle of inviolability that all legislative and representation chambers have has been flagrantly and severely violated. The Supreme Court's action in the general cause against the members of the Government, the Parliament and civil society organizations has contributed to violating this principle, it has eliminated the separation of powers, it has compromised the independence and impartiality of the courts and it has put at risk numerous fundamental rights in the field of the exercise of the right of political representation.

3. There have been numerous violations of rights: the freedom of expression, of assembly, the right to physical integrity and the prohibition of degrading treatment, the right of active and passive suffrage, the right to exercise public office freely and not be discriminated against for political opinions, the right to freedom, the right to an impartial judge as predetermined by the law, the principle of legality, the right to due process with all the guarantees and the right to defence. All these rights are enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

4. Illegitimate encroachments upon freedom of expression have occurred when free expression has been coerced or censored, even before it is uttered, with the aim of ensuring that there is thus a dissuasive effect on debates of issues of general interest. We can find an example in the prohibition of events or meetings, in searches inside private companies, the headquarters of newspapers or law firms. Everything is done with the sole purpose of scaring. There have also been other violations, such as during 1-O when citizens wanted to express themselves peacefully through their vote and the police attacked them violently. And recently, since the referendum, there have been violations of great intensity, at a time when the State has entered into a dynamic of frightening and harassing pro-independence positions, whether they are defended by politicians, artists, journalists, teachers, or by citizens in general. All these manifestations are legitimate, as established by the ECtHR, however much they may shock, embarass or offend the State or any part of the population.

5. A discourse has been fabricated to turn the democratic and peaceful movement into a tale of aggression and violence that is nonexistent as regards the October 1 referendum, which was never illegal. In the judicial proceedings initiated in various State courts, the logic of total war, the application of made-to-measure criminal law and the criminal law of the enemy, become increasingly evident. The use of what is known as 'expert intelligence evidence', a practice born within the framework of the fight against terrorism, has now been activated, so that the investigation is carried out by the police and is validated later by the courts. The judge is never in direct contact with the evidence, but with information chosen solely to reinforce the accusatory hypothesis.

6. Finally, we shall not cease to denounce the existence of political prisoners, and the use of preventive detention as a measure of unjustified and abusive coercion to subjugate ideologies, taking into account that prison legislation itself is violated by holding these prisoners in centres far from their families and their environment.